“You know, there is a solution we could give you, a plastic bubble.” Jennie slid in next to me.
“Yeah, but it wouldn’t be fun, and then I wouldn’t have a sex life anymore.” I smiled.
“Amelia Flynn you dirty girl, you’re finally admitting that you got that dick.” Jennie bumped my shoulder.
“Yes, and then some.”
“You look happy.”
“I feel it.”
She leaned her head on my shoulders, the small embrace meant it was a bigger gesture than anyone would know. To have people behind you, to choose you. My eyes were opened and I had a certain person to thank for that, and I wasn’t going to take it for granted anymore.
“So, for breakfast this weekend, I figured we’d try a different…” her voice carried on, but a series of shouts and alarms blared, breaking off the conversation.
“Level one, trauma now. Level one, trauma now.”
“Amelia, I need you in trauma bay one. Incoming multiple stab wounds,” my charge nurse shouted as I broke away to the trauma bay, prepping for the incoming patient. My heart beat faster and faster, asking the man upstairs to not let it be anyone I knew. My stomach started to get queasy just thinking about it, and the possibilities.
Heavy footsteps went running to the door as the medics came in rattling off vitals and brief incident history. I caught wind of it, as I gowned and gloved up. “21-year-old, male, found on the college campus near the back alley of a campus building.Multiple stab wounds, one to the chest, one to the left side, and one back.” The medic continued with the vitals as they counted down to lift him up on the table.
He looked so young, barely experiencing life. Emotions welled up in my eyes, I must’ve been getting close to my period; usually I was much more grounded.
“Amelia, I need those fluids,” one of the ED doctors commanded.
I ran fast to grab what was needed, hooking up the fluids, and grabbing the gauzes as the doctors and team continued to work on him. They were trying to stop the bleeding. “Come on, let’s get this under control.” one of them shouted. His left side started to bleed and I quickly grabbed it, notifying the team that more was leaking out.
Just as they got some control, his heart rate almost gave out. I whispered, “Don’t you dare.”
By some miracle, he came back. I had to step out, something was coming over me.
I asked for a switch out and Jennie gladly covered me. I stepped away into the nearest hallway, still watching from afar the action that was happening. Who would do something to him? And on a college campus? He was someone’s kid, someone’s friend.
I leaned on the wall, my hands started to tremble. Then one of the officers approached me. They cleared their throat. “Your charge nurse was there. I thought I might drop this off to you.” I looked up at the burly cop with a hand extended with a backpack in there. “His wallet and phone are in there. We already cleared it.”
I found my voice. “Has anyone called next of kin or someone come along with him?”
He shook his head. “No, ma’am. There wasn’t enough time.”
Of course, one of the downfalls is that some of these things fall back to us. I just nodded and took the bag back to the hub as the officer watched over me.
I pulled out the wallet and the phone, seeing if the boy had an emergency card or something. There was enough battery for me to scroll over and hover over the emergency emblem and pull up the card. I got his name and date of birth.
I scrolled through to see any other medical information, blood type, current medications, but what took my breath away was the name of the first person on his emergency contact list.
“Shooter”.
I shook my head. I prayed, I hoped that it wasn’t anyone connected to the club or to Shooter. My blood ran cold, all color draining from my face.
“Ma’am, are you alright?” the cop asked me.
Tears started to well up in my eyes. I tried to find my ground, find my next move. “Um. Yes. Could you tell me if Lt. Greene is going to be attached to this?”
The cop shot me a look in confusion, “I mean… I don’t think so. How do you know Greene?”
“Mutual friends.” Shooter had told me everything one night. About what happened at Melody’s accident and how the club has been taking over the city and they had a man on the inside. The coincidence was damning, knowing that Greene helped me out and tried to give me options. At the very least, a character witness if necessary.
The cop nodded, “I don’t think so, but if you would like me to get him, I can call him in.”
